A French gay couple vacationing on the French island of Corsica suffered broken noses, bruises, and blood loss after a breathtaking attack by a homophobic mob.
The French publication Têtu reports that the two men–identified as Mickaël and Benoît–had visited a club on July 15. While on the dance floor, a group of teenagers approached the couple.
“A group of young teenagers aged 15 to 20 laughed at us and insulted us as queers,” Mickaël recalled. One of the men then showed him “a picture of someone pissing on a rainbow flag. I stayed very calm and told him that I am gay myself. At that moment he takes out his cross and tells me that it ‘is against nature.'”
Related: Gay man found barely alive on Atlanta train tracks after separating from friends during night out
Rattled, the couple exited the club for some fresh air. One of the teenagers followed, and continued to insult the men, calling them “queers.” Then things turned violent.
“That’s when things went nuts,” Mickaël said. “I had five punches before I got stuck between two cars with 10 guys on me. Luckily I didn’t pass out; who knows what might have happened…would I still be alive?”
Eventually, about 20 men began to take part in the beating. A crowd of about 60 villagers gathered nearby, all watching the attack as if it was some kind of sports event. The crowd seemed to encourage the violence, shouting “queers” at the two men.
“They brought out the popcorn,” Benoît said.
Fortunately, police arrived and broke up the attack. An ambulance rushed Mickaël and Benoît to a nearby hospital where doctors treated them for broken noses, bruises, and bleeding. Both men also received eight days of temporary work interruption (ITT) to recover. Meanwhile, investigators have opened an inquiry into the attack.
The attack in Corsica is just one of a recent worldwide rash of attacks on gay men. Outcry continues in Spain following the murder of 24-year-old nursing assistant Samuel Luiz Muñiz. Also in Spain, a British tourist suffered a broken jaw in a homophobic attack last week. Back in the United States, police in Atlanta arrested three adults in connection with a viral video showing abuse of a child with the word “gay” carved into his head. Police in Atlanta also have opened an investigation into a brutal attack on a gay man which left him hospitalized with brain damage. Last week also saw an altercation in Palm Springs which left a gay man hospitalized.
Chrisk
Here’s the deal. Always carry protection. They attack you because they perceive you to be weak and defenseless. Flash a gun and this garbage would scatter like scared little rabbits. At least carry a knife. Make a few of those little pigs bleed if they want to hurt you so bad.
Jon in Canada
I concur with your statement. I’m ex-Intel SPFC* and my husband is an ex-Marine. We both carry a knife and other small but effective protection items. If a homophobe comes at us, they will not survive the event, on that I can assure you. Thankfully, we’re both big men (I’m 6’6″ 220lbs, he’s 6’4″ 195 lbs) and in good shape; so as silly and flamboyant as we sometimes get (thanks Martinis), even in that state, no one bugs us. Again, always carry protection, because it is still a dangerous world for us fabulous queers.
*Special Forces Canada
Hank31
@Jon in Canada Mmmm yeah, you’re a painfully obvious fake. Canada doesn’t have Marines. And no special forces vet would ever talk about killing someone in a civilian altercation. Nor is it remotely likely that a special forces vet would prattle on about being “queer” and “flamboyant.” More likely, you are a defective who is living out some sort of fantasy of having lived a different life.
PerhapsYesNoMaybe
Hank31: Even I am smart enough to know that Canadians marry U.S. citizens. Are you that daft reading what he wrote? You must be a homophobe who doesn’t like the idea of homosexuals being able to defeat everyone who has harmed them.
Chrisk
Hank31
Yes they do. Their Marines are called the Canadian Special Operations Forces.
Hank31
@ChrisK No they don’t. Special forces and Marines are 2 different things. Canada considered creating a Marine force but rejected the proposal. And the OP himself differentiates them b/c he identifies himself as special forces and his husband as a Marine. In any event, he’s a liar.
wikidBSTN
Wow. It takes 20 heterosexuals to beat up two twinks.
Kangol2
This happened in France, a rich liberal European country. It is telling that after the attack started, a crowd gathered to watch these two men be badly beaten and cheered on the attackers. I don’t know the specifics of Corsican society, but it is a part of France and French laws apply there, so there should be harsh penalties not just for the assailants, but for those who stood around and watched as if they were at an outdoor fair. This incident, like the others reported, underscores that homophobia and transphobia have not disappeared, and that it’s not just in countries like Jamaica or Uganda, or Russia or Latvia, or in Middle Eastern countries, that LGBTQ people face tremendous danger. France is a rich, advanced country, and yet these men were nearly beaten to death for being gay. The fight for equality and liberation continues everywhere.
Vince
Reminds me of Isis throwing gay men off of buildings. Not only did a large crowd come out to enjoy it but would actively participate by killing them if they survived the fall.
Gadfeal
I’ve lived my entire youth in France, and you realize that while the vast majority of outings are as “safe” as anywhere, there are some measures:
1. If you go out in the dark in an unfamiliar place, isolated, ask the local concierge, or like-minded people of any tips.
2. When you have youth, drink, or drugs, there is the phenomenon of group frenzy. This happens anywhere, such as in the heart of “gay beach”, the 12th Street beach section of South Beach. Three local youths attacked a gay couple, not two blocks from a gay cafe with drag shows. Surveillance allowed police to arrest them; it was the usual, “They’re from good families. Why would they do this? ”
3. It’s not just gays, but, witness the disappearance of Lara Logan, the blonde South African reporter for 60 minutes, from the public eye. Very unwisely, she went into the crowds in Cairo during the “Arab Spring” demonstrations, sticking out from the rest by her garb and blond hair. She was gang raped, with her camera crew overpowered. She was only saved by a group of women who surrounded her. She had to have corrective surgery. I absolutely avoid crowds.
4. Although the law, and majority attitude in France are LGBT-inclusive, when you are not in a large urban zone, if you don’t blend in, unhinged group thugs can cause trouble. Corsica is an island “departement” that has a long history of bombings by the radical minority wanting “independence”. It is also one of the most beautiful and popular summer destinations for the French, the Island of Beauty. So, it is quite possible that the group was not of locals.
5. Despite the populist image of classy aristocrats and thespians of Englishmen, the reality is that British soccer fan groups have caused violent frenzies after major football (soccer) games across the continent. One country basically banned English soccer fan groups from getting into the stadium. Culturally, young English lads take it as socially acceptable to get stone drunk, boorish on Fridays and weekends. The prohibition of alcohol sales in pubs by 11 pm, counter intutively, led to the phenomenon of vomitous drunkenness before pubs closed. Don’t forget, this is the country where a police officer was beheaded by knife in broad daylight.
6. One suggestion is to have some sort of record and upload video function on your phone.
Kangol2
Lara Logan’s assault in Egypt was absolutely horrible, but she has mainly left the public eye because of her extremely flawed report on Benghazi while on 60 Minutes, which led CBS to issue an apology, make Logan issue one, and then place her on leave for a while. (She also was in a love triangle with a fellow reporter and a military contractor in Iraq, which caused another scandal.) In the reporting scandal, Logan presented an on-air report on Oct. 27, 2013, based on Dylan Davies’s account of the September 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. After Logan’s report, it became clear that Davies had provided a different story to the FBI and was not an eye witness, as he claimed. Logan and her team had made multiple errors in the report, thereby presenting a false, pro-right-wing account of what really happened, after she’d already given a speech showing she was biased about what happened. That harmed her career, not the terrible attack in Egypt.
Terrycloth
NEVER walk alone. even with another person with you..call a cab. Be prepared set cab fare aside. Do not wait until bar closes to call one. You may end up waiting outside for it .and homophobes may be waiting .I walked home once never heard the 3 guys sneak up on me .kicking me after I was down on my sid s punching me..good thing there were no knives or weapons. My yells made neighbors look and call police..they were long gone in a heartbeat .I got up sore went home. Few bruises fat lip otherwise ok .always called cabs to and from then on
cuteguy
Carry a weapon and these horrible MAGA l0sers will go back to living in their mothers basement eating their organic baby food, scared little l0sers they are
Kangol2
Well, they may support MAGA from a distance, who knows, but they’re in Corsica, which is a French territory, so it’s probably more likely they support the anti-gay parties over there.
Terrycloth
@ cuteguy : sometimes they sneak up on you quietly..before you have a chance to use a weapon or spray .sometimes there are more than one coming at you from different angles ..sometimes , their weapons are better than yours or they have guns that shoot .with real bullets ..
Paris in Santiago
Always be aware that no matter where you are going, someone is watching. I learned that the hard way.
And those vacation destiny ads targetted for us as a community, ignore them. They offer a false pretense: always review the local media for queer violence before you make plans.
I think It’s time for the gay community to take matters into our own hands when confronted with violence. We really need to have these community conversations as soon as possible.
PerhapsYesNoMaybe
Good points. Regions that violate human rights should be dealt with.